easy ice cream

photo via flickr

My sister-in-law introduced me to bag ice cream over the weekend. You mix the ingredients together in a zip-lock bag (including any flavoring you may want to add, I did mint chocolate chip), then you put that bag inside of a gallon sized zip-lock bag filled with ice and rock salt and shake it for about 20 minutes. We had fun, although our hands got cold.

Each person gets:
1 small plastic bag
1 large plastic bag
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 plastic spoon
1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of rock salt
3/4 cup of crushed ice

Directions

1. Place 1/4 cup sugar into the small bag.
2. Add the 1/2 cup of milk.
   
3. Add enough creamer (1/2 cup) to the milk to bring the total volume to 1 cup.
4. Add approximately 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla to the milk/creamer mixture.
5. Close the bag securely.
6. Place the smaller plastic bag inside the larger bag.
7. Surround the smaller bag with several cups of crushed ice.
8. Pour 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of salt over the ice and seal the larger bag securely.
9. Knead or roll back and forth on a table or desk top (we shook ours).
   
10. After 10 minutes check the mixture to see if it is frozen. If not, continue kneading.
11. When the mixture is frozen, simply remove the smaller bag and eat the ice cream directly from the bag.
    

recipe found here

I remembered seeing these at Bed, Bath and Beyond, you put the mixture in one side of the ball and the ice and salt in the other and kick it or throw it around. Sounds like fun for a picnic. Plus, your hands won't get cold!